Smartphones Help in an Emergency

woman on cell phone in emergency

Your smartphone can become a valuable tool in an emergency. Sometimes life can get a little scary, and our smartphones could help us in getting through the unexpected. Below are a few ways in which our smartphones could be utilized in an emergency.

Your smartphone could be used to call or now text emergency services as well as give those services your personal information if you cannot. Of course, the identification in your wallet or pocket could do the same, but our phones have the capacity to give them information that a form of ID cannot. In Case of Emergency (ICE) applications on your phone can tell medical personnel if you’re are diabetic or have any other medical conditions not available on your ID. The apps can tell them who to contact, your blood type, allergies, any medications you are taking, and if you need special medical attention that could mean the difference between life and death. There are both paid apps and free apps available for download. Finding one that fits your needs is easy.

Your smartphone has the ability to be your first alert system in an emergency. Your phone can alert you to inclement weather warnings and natural disasters that may affect your area, give you up to date information on such events and keep you informed about evacuation measures and routes. These warnings can help keep you prepared and safe in the event of a natural disaster or emergency. Most carriers send emergency weather alerts as well as missing person alerts. There are apps available for download if you would like a more in-depth warning system. These apps can also alert to disasters in other areas or parts of the world helping to keep you informed if loved ones live out of state or in another country.

In the case of an emergency or missing family member, smartphones can be used to locate loved ones with its GPS tracking. Keeping an eye on your kids and ensuring they travel safely is a benefit to this. These phone systems and coinciding apps can not only help you locate family but even communicate with them in some cases in the event of an emergency. This GPS system can also help you to navigate to emergency services such as police departments and hospitals when traveling to areas you are not familiar with.

In the case of an emergency, would you know how to provide basic first aid until emergency services arrived? Applications such as the American Red Cross’ First Aid app, can be downloaded so that if your assistance in first aid is needed, you will know what to do. This app, as well as others available, provides detailed guides that can help you administer life-saving care until paramedics or emergency services arrive.

In an emergency, which can happen at any time, being prepared and getting the right information into the right hands can be vital in the fight between life and death. Our phones have so many different abilities that we utilize in different ways, it’s nice to know they can also come in handy in an emergency. Taking a moment to download a few apps to help in an emergency is definitely a good idea. Though they are great devices in helping us communicate and stay organized, they are capable of assisting in saving lives in an emergency.

Posted on Thursday, January 17th, 2019